Magic Dick and Shun Ng transport listeners to 'groove land'

Thursday

Aug 28, 2014 at 2:00 AM

Portsmouth Book & Bar will present a special evening of musical collaboration when legendary harmonica player Richard "Magic Dick" Salwitz of J. Geils Band fame pairs up with up-and-coming Boston-based soul rocker and six-string virtuoso Shun Ng.

Christopher Hislop

Portsmouth Book & Bar will present a special evening of musical collaboration when legendary harmonica player Richard "Magic Dick" Salwitz of J. Geils Band fame pairs up with up-and-coming Boston-based soul rocker and six-string virtuoso Shun Ng.

Demographic and musical barriers will be broken. Ears and minds will be challenged. Souls will shift. Jaws will fall.

Spotlight caught up with the pair in an attempt to gather what else might occur when these two musical forces collide.

SPOTLIGHT: You're playing the Book & Bar here in Portsmouth. What excites you about the gig?

NG: I've performed at the Book & Bar once before and what's exciting for me is that I'll be doing this with Magic Dick now, playing all new material that Dick and I had been working on for months. This will be our third show and I'm really looking forward to be performing all these new stuff for the folks in Portsmouth!

SPOTLIGHT: Let's talk about this musical partnership. What are the roots? How'd you meet? When did you decide that it might be fun to collaborate?

SALWITZ: Shun's manager, Ralph Jaccodine, introduced me to Shun last August at his office. We had a mind-blowing conversation and did some playing that afternoon. I already knew before meeting Shun that I wanted to collaborate with him. I could hear a perfect blending of acoustic harmonica and his guitar and voice.

Our roots are deep in blues, soul, R&B, and jazz ... Put simply: good music. We do not concern ourselves with bad music and we would probably agree about what is bad. Great good music is timeless.

SPOTLIGHT: Shun, how aware were you of Dick, and his work with bands such as J. Geils, when you were approached with the idea of collaborating?

NG: I grew up in Singapore and started out playing a lot of blues in some bars. I had a deep love for the blues and Magic Dick is known all over for his work as a legendary rock-harmonica player, with tunes like 'Whammer Jammer' and also his work with Bluestime.

SPOTLIGHT: Dick, I read that you were interested in collaborating after you bore witness to Shun's 'Funky Thumb Stuff' tune. What was it about his playing the drew you in?

SALWITZ: His swing and sense of design. Always something new coming and developing and in a flash the groove changes. His minimalism is the perfect vehicle to showcase the brilliance of his musical designs and do it with a huge palette of acoustic tones. I was also totally drawn in by his singing and the sound of his voice.

SPOTLIGHT: Why music? What led you both to chase lives as professional musicians?

NG: It never seemed like a choice — it was almost like a curse I was blessed with. Growing up in Singapore, my whole life was there, it was difficult to leave and it's tough moving away from everything to pursue a dream. But it never seemed like a choice; it always seemed more like something I just had to do. As difficult as it can get, it has been the best decision I've made yet.

SALWITZ: My greatest passion is music. Long ago I committed to something I deemed worthy of a lifetime of study and fun. For me and you.

SPOTLIGHT: What are you hoping people take with them when they experience this duo?

NG: My mentor used to say to me that for an artist to be great, they have to make the audience feel like their listening to music for the first time. That has always been what I strive for as a musician and performer. We want to give them an experience.

SALWITZ: A feeling of 'Wow!' It's that simple for me.

SPOTLIGHT: I've seen the James Brown cover "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" that you guys filmed and published online. What else are you guys doing? Are you writing music together?

NG: Yes we are writing together and also rearranging tunes that we love, for solo guitar and harmonica.

SALWITZ: We are writing music together and the process is fresh each new day. Shun is amazing.

SPOTLIGHT: What can folks expect when they come out to the show?

NG: Dick and I are deeply passionate about this minimalistic format, with no band to hide behind, it's just us. We've always felt that with just two instruments, everything becomes more subtle and intricate, the harmonica can create impressions of horns or strings, the guitar can impose baselines and rhythms, not imitating a full band, but channeling a band, or an orchestra. Anything other than that they'll just have to come and find out!

SALWITZ: To be transported to groove land where all dreams are fulfilled.

Advertise

Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted.
seacoastonline.com ~ 111 New Hampshire Ave., Portsmouth, NH 03801 ~ Privacy Policy ~ Terms Of Service